NBL to NBA: Five Aussie Talents Cooks Is Following to the League

Xavier Cooks has become the latest in a long-line of Aussie basketballers to take his talents to the NBA, and as the competition continues to experience tremendous growth – both on the court and off it – the once rare occurrence of an NBL-talent heading to the States has become an almost annual occurrence.

Cooks’ ability to put pen to paper on an NBA deal at the age of 27 shows the NBL is fast becoming a pathway, not just for young talents like Ousmane Dieng and Rayan Rupert to make the League, but for established players to be able to use it as a platform to fulfil their dreams.

Cooks will join nine Australian players currently plying their trade in the NBA, with six of those having played in the domestic competition at some point in their careers.

NBL Media takes a look at the five most recent Australians to have moved from the NBL to the NBA.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLxNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLxNBA</a> ? ??<br><br>Xavier Cooks has agreed to a two-year deal with the Washington Wizards and will join the NBA after the NBL Championship Series.<br><br>Congrats X ? <a href="https://t.co/Mn0cwDJd11">pic.twitter.com/Mn0cwDJd11</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1632505031227506688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jack White
The former Melbourne United man entered the NBA on a two-way contract at the start of this season – and having played in the same team as 2019 first-round selections Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish at Duke, he brought an added element of top-level mentality into Melbourne United in 2020.

After playing one game for the Taipans in 2016 as a development player, White added 34 NBL appearances to his name at United, before departing for the Denver Nuggets on a two-way contract at the end of NBL22. 

In seven games in the NBA G-League for the Grand Rapid Gold – Denver’s affiliate – White has been dominant. His 17.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game has seen the 25-year-old earn opportunities at NBA-level with the Nuggets.

In his 15 games, he’s averaged 1.3 points in just over three minutes per game.

Jack White is the latest Australian talent battling to earn a permanent place on an NBA roster via a two-way contract.

Matthew Dellavedova
When ‘Delly’ signed on with Melbourne United for the NBL22 season, he arrived in the competition with a level of pedigree rarely seen by returning local players.

Dellavedova returned to the NBA with 499 career appearances between Cleveland and Milwaukee over an eight-year span, and came sporting a 2016 championship ring.

The point-guard returned to his home state of Victoria with two clear goals; help Melbourne United win a championship, and earn himself a return to the NBA.

His averages of 10.6 points and 4.9 assists per game don’t tell the full story of the impact he had on both his team and the competition – and he finished his 27 regular season appearances with a selection in the All-NBL Second Team.

While United fell just short of a championship, 'Delly' fulfilled one of his goals by earning an opportunity with the Sacramento Kings this season, and while he has found playing time hard to come by this season – he’s averaging just 6.2 minutes per game – he’s provided much-needed grit and leadership to a young side that’s become one of the surprise packets of the league this season.

Matthew Dellavedova returned to the NBA at the age of 31 off the back of a strong season in the NBL.

Jock Landale
Quite possibly the greatest undrafted success to come out of the NBL in recent seasons, Jock Landale parlayed his one season with Melbourne United into a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs, before earning a full contract and being traded to the Phoenix Suns.

After returning to home shores off the back of two seasons in the Czech Republic and Lithuania, Landale earned All-NBL First Team, Grand Final MVP and championship honours in his sole season at the club.

He played 41 total games across the season for United and averaged 16.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.

In his first season at the Suns Landale is playing backup at centre to former number one draft pick Deandre Ayton and has averaged 14.3 minutes per game across 55 appearances.

He’s shooting over 50 per cent from the field this season and averages 6.6 and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Jock Landale cut his teeth at the San Antiono Spurs - and Austin Spurs in the G-League - before becoming a crucial part of a championship fancy Suns side.

Josh Giddey
One of the most exciting emerging talents in the NBA, Josh Giddey is currently the only local player to have graduated from the league’s Next Star program to earn a spot on an NBA roster.

Rather than pursue the college option, Giddey put pen to paper with the Adelaide 36ers for the NBL21 season – a decision that worked out well for all parties involved.

The now 20-year-old guard finished his maiden professional campaign flirting with triple-double averages. Across his 28 games, he logged 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.

Giddey's performances saw him earn NBL Rookie of the Year recognition, and he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the sixth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

While injury cut his first NBA season short, he earned a place on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and became the third youngest player to record an NBA triple-double. Only LeBron James was younger – and he did so on two occasions.

This season he’s helping lead an exciting Thunder side with fellow international guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and is averaging 16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and six assists per game.

Josh Giddey looms as a key piece of the future for Oklahoma City alongside fellow talents Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Ousmane Dieng.

Will Magnay
After a breakout campaign with the Brisbane Bullets in NBL20 – in which he averaged 8.1 points, six rebounds, 2.1 blocks per game and was named as the NBL’s Most Improved Player – Magnay travelled to America with a two-way contract at the New Orleans Pelicans.

Magnay’s sole season in America didn’t pan out the way he would have hoped though. A mixture of the Covid-19 pandemic and injuries limited his ability to get onto the court – however he still displayed the skills that made him such a touted prospect.

Playing with the Erie BayHawks in the G-League he put up 8.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He eventually earnt the opportunity to take to the floor in the Pelicans’ final game of the NBA season, where he logged three minutes. 

Since returning to the NBL, he’s earned NBL two runners-up medals with the Perth Wildcats in NBL21 and Tasmania JackJumpers in NBL22 and battled serious injury to return to the court in NBL22 and help Tasmania to a second straight Playoff appearance.

He’s currently playing the Australian off-season in Spain for Obradoiro CAB.

Will Magnay has battled injury since retuning to the NBL, but he's emerged as a key cog in a championship challenging JackJumpers side.